Mark the "Win"

At 7:15 this morning my "to do" list was already covering the back of the envelope I grabbed to write it on. Years ago I came across the idea that it's important to keep a note pad close at hand during devotions to write down thoughts that will otherwise distract you. You know, kind of a guarantee that if you go ahead and focus on the devotion time you won't get embarrassed later by being reminded that you forgot to do what you had remembered while you were trying to do devotions?! Smile.

Now while this is a wonderful idea, I've already confessed to you dear readers that organization is not a natural gifting for me. No, for me organization is more like a survival skill that must be addressed daily so that I don't end up "bull-dozed" by some event that I neglected to remember. Can you tell that I've been there a few times? (The problems that arise when one is lacking in this skill are seriously heightened when you are the person in charge! Sigh.)

So, while the perfectly precious pad that I promptly procured for writing such reminders was prominently placed in close proximity to my Bible and journal, I apparently "phailed" in the task of perpetuating a knowledge of its placement. In other words: bought a pad, lost the pad, had to write on a envelope which I hope I won't lose before I can get to the office!

See? You thought I was kidding. Nope, not at all!

One of the "Nother Mothers" God placed in my life tried to gently help me with this problem when I was younger. She started out with cutesy little reminders. She tried a couple of funny cards that addressed the problem but with the balm of humor. Then she graduated to giving me articles which she had cut out of magazines. Finally, she sat me down on her porch swing one day, gave me a cup of hot tea for comfort and said in no uncertain terms, "Sheri, you've GOT to get organized!!"

Thankfully she is a woman who is organized enough for two people. So, I began walking out the Proverb with her, "He who hates correction will die!" Oh wait, no. What I meant to write was, "The discerning heart seeks knowledge." Whew, much better.

Now mind you, it wasn't an easy journey - who likes to have a spot light put on their weaknesses?! And sometimes when something comes naturally to you, it's hard to understand why it doesn't come that easily to everyone else. In other words, I had plenty of opportunities to get my feelings hurt while we worked on this.

But over time, she was able to hammer some basic truths into me that became part of the fabric of life. I latched on to the importance of a few simple "non-negotiables" that have become life-savers as I travel along. And by carefully working at implementing these regularly, I've gotten a little better.

Now some of you have already mentally returned to the opening paragraph where I described how I'm still lacking in organizational skills. I didn't say I've arrived! I'm simply reminding myself that progress has been made and as Joyce Meyer often says, "I'm not as good as I need to be. But I'm sure not as bad as I was!"

So although writing my reminders on the back of an envelope is a bit disappointing for me today, I'll simply rehearse some improvements I've made:

• I know where all my children are! (And the only time I lost one of my children it was for a very short period of time. That's a win.)
• While I'm not sure where my purse is sitting, I do know that my keys are in it!
• If we should need a clean set of sheets for unexpected company tonight, I know that they are in the top left corner of my closet! And they are clean.
• In thirty years of wearing it, I've never permanently lost my wedding ring! (Other rings, yes. But this is a list of wins, right?)
• I still do not have a handy-dandy address book listing the name, current address, birth date, social security number and Christmas card count of every friend I've known at my fingertips. But I have learned to use whitepages.com!
• While I do not have my sermons categorized, alphabetized or any other kind of "ized", they are all pretty much gathered in an old brief case. And the more recent ones are typed, not written out in long hand on pages from a yellow pad.

Ah, the sweet victory of success! Yes, I'm aware I have a long way to go still. But I'm certainly glad that the Lord is patient. AND He loves me enough to have surrounded me with many who are organized enough for two. Thank You, Lord for partners on this journey.

Now, where did I put my charger cord for this computer? Smile.